Reunion
by Lizard-viking
Summary: After two years, Shepard is finally reunited again with Liara. Though the asari he finds is not the same as the one he fell in love with two years ago.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: Credit for the Horizon scene goes to the BSN user "Graceyn" and her own fanfic "If It Meant Living: From the Beginning", a story which I drew a lot of inspiration from when writing my own version of the scene.**

* * *

_Communications Tower, Horizon._

The Collector ship had taken off. The clouds on the sky started to move away, leaving only the sun to give off its usual warmth, a seemingly mockery of the event that had just transpired. Three individuals stood on the ground watching as the alien craft disappeared, with a fourth person racing to the scene.

"No! Don't let them get away!" Delan cried out to the soldiers, he refused to accept what had just happened, that some mysterious, walking freak shows had taken his friends and worse, got away with it.

"There is nothing we can do, they're gone." Charlie bluntly stated, as much as he regretted it. It was over; the Collectors had escaped and were most likely in FTL now.

"Half the colony's in there! They took Egan and Sam and… and Lilith. Do something!" The mechanic shouted, clearly filled with outrage over these three soldiers apparent failure to stop the aliens from abducting half the population.

"I didn't want it to end this way, I did what I could." Charlie responded back, a hint of regret filled his voice. He already damn well knew what the stakes were here. He had failed to save all of them, worse, he had more likely than not failed to save an old friend.

"More than most, Charlie." Garrus added. The Turian shared the same sentiment, but knew it was no good to beat themselves up; they fought as hard as they could.

"Charlie? Wait. I know that name." Delan had turned around, looking at Charlie directly. "Sure, I remember you. You're some type of big alliance hero." He continued, a clear distaste was starting to surface on him. Garrus was readying to say something in return, only to stop when a familiar face made his unexpected return.

"Commander Charlie Shepard. Captain of the Normandy. The first human spectre. Savior of the Citadel." The voice instantly caught the attention of all the four people at the scene. Shepard turned his head to see Kaidan walking towards the three of them. Charlie slowly grinned, it was damn good to see Kaidan again, and at least it was comforting to know he had not completely failed today.

"You're in the presence of a legend, Delan..." Kaidan had turned to face the mechanic, pointing out precisely who the hell he was talking to. He turned to face the commander again "And a ghost." a wide range of emotions could be read on his face, respect, amazement, joy, but also wariness and concern.

"All the good people we lost, and you get left behind. Figures." Delan remarked, showing his annoyance and disbelief that Kaidan of all people made it out alive. He made a last statement about his disdain of "you Alliance types" before leaving, although at this point nobody paid him any attention.

Leaving only Charlie, Garrus and Miranda at the scene, Kaidan slowly walked towards them, his last steps being almost cautious. He looked at all three of them, his eyes quickly scanning Miranda, giving a suspicious look at both her and the logo on her armor. With Garrus only a small nod was exchanged between them. Standing in front of Charlie now, he reached out his hand, Charlie shook it.

"I thought you were dead commander. We all did." Kaidan said. A small smile could be read on his face. It was clear he was amazed at the fact that the commander was alive, but if Charlie was alive, that could only mean one thing...

"You don't sound too happy to see me. Is something bothering you, Kaidan?" Charlie casually and jokingly responded back while still grinning, having forgot why somebody might have issues with a supposedly dead person standing in front of them. Kaidan meanwhile took a single step back.

"Yeah, something is bothering me. I spent the last two years believing you were dead!" Kaidan lashed out. His joy to see Charlie had been replaced with anger. Charlie's grin disappeared.

"Kaidan… I did die 2 years ago. I was just recently rebuilt." Charlie stammered, trying to find the right words to explain his situation. However he knew that it impossible, he could see that Kaidan only grew angrier upon hearing his words, scowling at his excuse.

"Charlie, I'm not a fucking idiot!" The words caught Charlie off-guard, flinching him for a second. He was surprised; Kaidan was usually quite restrained in his behavior, only cursing under the most extreme of situations or emotional states. But then, seeing your supposedly dead friend, comrade-in-arms and former commanding officer two years later could perhaps fall under the former.

"You got to believe me, Kaidan. I was brought back to save these human colonies! It's why I'm out here!" Charlie replied back, still slightly confused by Kaidan's reaction, but even now his voice was taking on a more defensive tone.

"Saving human colonies, really? Is that what you're doing? Because I saw reports that you were working with Cerberus!" Kaidan questioned, it was clear he did not buy into Charlie's apparent statement.

"Yes, I am working with Cerberus Kaidan, because they're the ones doing something!" Charlie immediately snapped back, he was getting more annoyed. He had not raced all this way through Horizon to rescue only to be questioned instead. Kaidan took another step back hearing his words.

"So it is true then? You are with Cerberus now and Garrus too… I can't believe the reports were right" Kaidan looked at both of them; there was no confusion or anger in him right now, just the sheer disbelief and realizations that all his worst suspicions and fears were correct.

"Cerberus and I want the same thing: To save our colonies. That doesn't mean I answer to them. They are only providing me with the assistance to fight the Collectors, nothing more." Charlie explained, he tried to keep his emotions in control, tried to be rationale. Hoping Kaidan would understand this way.

"Do you really believe that? Or is that just what Cerberus wants you to think?" Kaidan was getting emotional now; it seemed clear for him now what had happened. Charlie had been twisted by Cerberus' influence, or worse, joined them willingly.

"In case you hadn't noticed Kaidan, the Collectors are working for the Reapers. A threat you have turned a blind eye to and a threat only Cerberus is willing to fight." Charlie continued trying to explain his side, but he was starting to lose his patience just slightly.

"Is that what they told you? What they said to convince you? Have you considered that Cerberus is using the Reaper threat to manipulate you? To control you!?" Kaidan answered back. There was a hint of concern in his last words. What if Shepard really was manipulated somehow?

"Dammit Kaidan, you're so focused on Cerberus that you are ignoring the real threat" Garrus had immediately jumped into the conversation, furious over Kaidan's short-sightedness. Kaidan just turned his head and looked at him.

"I never expected you, Garrus, the champion of righteousness, to work for Cerberus." Kaidan stated in a cold manner, he turned to look at Charlie before looking back at Garrus and continuing. "But then, you would follow the commander through hell and back."

"Wouldn't you?" Garrus simply asked. Kaidan took a long pause before answering. He had given a longing look at both Charlie and Garrus. They had been a team once, saving the galaxy together. He would have wanted nothing more than to serve with them again, but now he was not so sure.

"No. Not for Cerberus." Kaidan finally answered Garrus, shaking his head while doing so. He could never betray his own principals so casually like this. He turned his head first to look at Miranda, then slowly back to Charlie, anger returning to his face. He took another step towards him.

"I wanted to believe that the rumors that you were alive, but I never expected anything like this." Kaidan spoke out against Charlie; he was filled with hurt and anger. A small pause was held before he continued, before he made his final accusation.

"You betrayed and turned your back on everything we stood for!" He finally said, his disgust for Cerberus had gotten the better of him now.

"Betrayal?" Charlie immediately snapped back the split second Kaidan ended. He had lost most of his composure the moment Kaidan accused him of betrayal. Charlie continued "If you want to talk about betrayal then look around you, Kaidan, the Alliance failed these colonies!" Charlie gestured at the scene surrounding them, what should have been a thriving colony was now almost turned into a ghost town. He took one step towards Kaidan, they were now face-to-face "You failed these colonies. And unlike you, Kaidan, I am doing what is right." Charlie sneered at him.

"So you think joining a terrorist organization is the best way to do the right thing? Kaidan replied back with bitter sarcasm. He quickly paused before continuing "You've changed. But I still know where my loyalties lie. I'm an Alliance soldier. Always will be.".

Kaidan now looked at the entire group before saying his goodbye.

"I've got to report back to the Citadel. They can decide to if they believe your story or not." He turned around and started to walk away.

"We both know how that's going to turn out. The Alliance will try to blame Cerberus, just like you did." Charlie did not waste a moment telling his expectations. He mocked Kaidan's naivety in believing the Alliance would do something now when they have done nothing for the last two years. Kaidan turned around to respond.

"A leopard can't change its spots. Cerberus can't be trusted." Kaidan retaliated, in his eyes, Cerberus would always be enemies.

"Goodbye, Shepard. And be careful." After that, Kaidan finally left for good. Charlie just stood there, anger boiling in him. He was going to go after Kaidan, perhaps to beat some damn sense into him. But before he got more than a few steps ahead Garrus stopped him.

"Don't bother wasting your energy, Charlie. Just let him go." Garrus said. Charlie immediately stopped in his track, turning his body slightly so he could see the turian, all while letting out a sigh.

"Yeah you're right." Charlie let out, looking almost defeated while doing so. He raised his right hand to his ear, activating his radio.

"Joker - Send the shuttle to pick us up. I've had enough of this colony."

* * *

_Normandy SR-2, Iera system, Shadow sea cluster._

It was a relief to step out of the shuttle again, escaping the heavy silence that had filled every centimeter of it since taking off from the colony. No one had said anything; Miranda had stayed quiet since the Collectors fled, giving off her usual cold and strong demeanor that was only rarely betrayed by her sheer exhaustion from the battle. Garrus was checking his weapon, giving the occasional look at the two humans. Charlie himself had simply just looked out of the small window in the shuttle door, starring out at the vast expanse as a few select words repeated over and over inside him.

They were in the shuttle bay now, walking slowly over to the elevator. Miranda was fiddling with her visor, stopping only as soon as they reached the door. Both she and Garrus left at the crew deck, leaving only Charlie alone as the elevator began its climb to the top floor.

The elevator door had opened once again as it reached its final destination. Charlie stepped out, quickly passing through the small room that separated the elevator from his cabin, and with a few steps he was in his own quarters. He was immediately greeted by EDI noticing him.

"Shepard. You are expected to report to the Illusive Man as soon as possible." EDI injected as soon as she detected his presence in the cabin.

"I know, EDI. Just give me a second." He let out with complete weariness dominating his voice. He had already begun loosening parts of his armor and threw them on the floor. He just needed a moment to get his armor off and get back into his fatigues.

With the armor removed he now stood in the bathroom, filling the sink up with cold water. His mind cooled down and relaxed as he splashed the icy water onto his face. He stood still with head bowed down and eyes closed, only raising his head again when the water had run its course. Opening his eyes, he now stared into the mirror in front of him, starring into the reflection it gave.

The faint red glow of synthetic eyes and facial scars greeted his vision. Drawing a hand to run over the scars as if he wanted to examine them, memories of his first reaction to them came to the front of his mind. He remembered that even after getting onboard the Normandy there was no time to think, no time to reflect. Their first order of business was to recruit two important members on Omega ASAP, and after that, he had to meet up with the council. He remembered their betrayal, Anderson's distrust of him. All of them had shown distrust and doubt, Tali had on Freedoms progress been suspicious of both him and his new "choice" of companions. Even Garrus, the person who followed him, would at times show doubt, even if it was for a mere second when he thought he was not looking. It was only after all this that things finally slowed down for a moment. It was only now he finally had a chance to stop and take a good look into the mirror.

And he hated what he saw.

He hated it, the realization that seemingly almost everything from his former life had turned against him. That everything he fought for had been for nothing, everything had been swept under the carpet. People accused him of treason when he was one of the few who still fought. Every time he looked in the mirror, the doubt and uncertainty gnawed in him, the doubt that he was not same person as he was before, that whatever was used to bring him back changed him. All of this plagued him, and every time it resurfaced, every time he looked into the mirror, he wanted to break it.

Taking a few deep breaths to collect himself again, his mind turned to the debriefing with the Illusive Man. Knowing that waiting would be a bad idea; he quickly hit the shower and got himself ready.

* * *

The door to the briefing room slid open as he approached it. The large table in the center of the room was already descending down, ready to be used. Charlie had to shake his head the first time he saw this in action, coupled with the Illusive Man's own office, and it all reminded him of those cheesy spy movies he used to watch as young. That said, given Cerberus' wealth, power and influence, perhaps the Illusive Man was allowed to indulge in certain fantasies others could not. Stepping onto the table, the QEC activated and he got into contact with the leader of Cerberus.

"Shepard, good work on Horizon. Hopefully the Collectors will think twice before attacking another colony." The Illusive Man opened up. As always the enigmatic man was enjoying a cigarette in their conversation, and this time was no different.

"It's not a victory. We interrupted the Collectors, but they still abducted half the colony." Charlie pessimistically stated. Whatever they achieved meant nothing given what was lost today.

"That's better than an entire colony, and more than we're accomplished since the abductions began." The Illusive Man countered, choosing to remind Charlie that this was the first time the Collectors suffered setbacks. He continued, "The Collectors will be more careful now, but I think we can find another way to lure them in."

"I wondered if you had anything to do with that attack. Kaidan said the Alliance got a tip about me and Cerberus." Charlie inquired, he couldn't help but notice that Kaidan mentioned reports; he wouldn't put it past Cerberus to be the one to leak such information. The Illusive Man took another drag from his cigarette before answering.

"I released a few carefully disguised rumors that you might be alive and working for Cerberus." The Illusive Man plainly stated, as always he kept a cool demeanor.

"I see. What were you trying to prove?" Charlie responded back, he had an idea why the Illusive Man would do it, but wanted to see his answer.

"I suspected the Collectors were looking for you, or people connected to you. Now I know for certain. It was a risk, but I couldn't just wait for them to take another colony. You understand?" The Illusive Man answered, choosing to appeal to the fact that without such a sacrifice, they wouldn't know where the Collectors would attack next before it would be too late.

"I understand, but we need to make sure they don't take any other colonies, let's go on the offensive and take the fight to them." Charlie replied, he may not have liked that the colony or his friend was used as bait, but he saw the Illusive Man's point on the need to know where the Collectors would strike next. On the other hand he sure as hell did not approve of Cerberus being the one to leak information in order to discredit him. That said, all these things did not change the fact that they were his only allies.

"Have patience, we still lack proper intel on their homeworld. I need you to continue building your team. Hopefully another opportunity to strike at the Collectors will present itself later, and when that happens, I need you ready." The Illusive Man said calmly, taking another drag from the cigarette.

"So… Got another batch of dossiers for me then?" Charlie asked. After seeing the first bunch of cheery crewmembers he had to pick up, he was more than interested to find out what other new and unique people Cerberus had found.

"Two in fact, both which are already sent. There's also a third on the way which I'll give you once it's complete." The Illusive Man answered with a minor hint of enthusiasm in his voice, and at the mention of the first two, two holographic files popped up in his office. "Speaking of the first two…" He continued after switching back to his normal tone and having kept a small pause.

"Yeah, what of them?" Charlie curiously asked with arms crossed, he wondered what the Illusive Man would say. The Illusive Man took yet another drag from the cigarette before starting.

"We managed to track down the planet they're on right now, but their exact locations are still unknown, meaning that you'll need to ask a local information broker for help. Since both of them are on Illium, your best bet to find them is Liara T'Soni." The Illusive Man explained, after his answer there was a small moment of pause between the two of them.

"Liara? I thought you said she was working for the Shadow Broker and couldn't be trusted." Charlie said, he usually tried to keep his feelings to himself in these conversations, but he couldn't help but show that the change of topic was of certain interest to him. And knowing the Illusive Man, he was probably quite aware of that.

"Correct. A lie which illusion would be shattered the moment it came into contact with its subject." The Illusive Man said, staring at Charlie, waiting to see his response.

"Lie? What do you mean!?" Charlie asked, his voice had gotten more heated now; he had started to feel more hostile towards the Illusive Man. Wondering what the hell the Illusive Man exactly had withheld from him.

"I lied about her working for the Shadow Broker netwo—" The Illusive Man tried to explain, but he got interrupted.

"I get that, but why? Why lie in the first place?" Charlie had stopped him mid-sentence, demanding that he got straight to the point.

"Because I didn't want you to come into contact with certain elements of your past, so I made up a lie in order to discourage you, but now that you have to go there, I felt that you deserved to know the truth." The Illusive Man answered, still keeping his normal tone, a contrast to Charlie.

"And why is it so bloody important for you to keep certain people away from me?" Charlie spat out, who the hell was the Illusive Man to decide who he should talk to or not?

"Shepard, you must understand that this mission is important and that everyone involved needs to be dedicated and focused, the same goes for you, can I expect you to put your past relationships behind you?" The Illusive Man asked, his expression becoming more serious. He had placed his cigarette to rest on the ashtray now.

"That's none of your damn business." Charlie answered back immediately, arms crossed, not even bothering to give the proposal any thought.

"I just want to remind you that it's been two years since you were gone, a lot of people have changed, including her. Better to leave these things behind." The Illusive Man responded

"I can handle my personal life fine enough without your help." Charlie said, he had frowned at the Illusive Man reply; he had doubts about the sincerity behind the Illusive man's desire for his personal welfare. Hearing this, the Illusive Man scratched his brow, staying silent, creating a long pause between them while keeping eye contact. Taking up his cigarette, he finally broke the pause by taking an unusual long drag from it.

"Charlie…" The Illusive Man said, blowing the smoke out of his lungs before continuing. "Do not misunderstand me. You may not believe me, but you are important both to Cerberus and the rest of humanity. And that is why I care for your wellbeing." The Illusive Man finished, he once again awaited Charlie's response.

"Touching, I'll keep that in mind." Charlie said sarcastically, with a fake smile on his face, shaking his head subtlety.

"That's all I can ask of you, no matter what I trust your judgment and ability to get the job done." The Illusive Man finished, he did not wish to continue despite being quite aware of the commander's insincere reply, knowing that it would not go anywhere. He held a small pause before ending the conversation.

"Good luck Shepard. And be careful, the Collectors will be watching you." And with those words the Illusive Man pressed a button ending the connection the QEC provided, leaving Charlie to himself once again.

* * *

Walking out of the room, so many thoughts were running through his head, he barely noticed himself almost marching into Jacob in the armory, he quickly snuck through the CIC before Kelly could turn around and talk to him. Not that he disliked the fair red-haired yeoman, quite the contrary; he just did not feel like talking to anyone right now and would rather avoid having to ignore her. He let out a small sigh of relief only hearable to himself when he managed to get to the elevator, quickly pressing the button; the elevator started its short journey up.

Getting back into the room, he finally allowed himself to drop his guard; he quickly sat down at his computer, activating it. He needed to study the dossiers, but he just couldn't focus right now, his head turned slightly to the right, confronting the thoughts that had run through him since leaving the briefing room. A sudden rush of guilt met him; he had neglected so much because of this damn mission, he had not even bothered sending a message saying he was alive to his own closest friends, his family or hell, even Liara. He had chosen not to contact them. At first, it was because he did not wish to tell them, given his current company and rather dangerous mission, perhaps it was better for them to continue believing he was dead and live in blissful ignorance, but later, there was more to it than that was there not? Yes, he was afraid, afraid of the rejection that he would meet. Given what he experienced so far, it seemed to be the only thing he would find. His head turned slightly to the right again, eyes looking at the single picture he had at the table, a picture of Liara, a small smile appeared on his face.

Despite all that had happened, despite what the Illusive Man had told him, he refused to believe that Liara would be like the others, Liara would understand right? She had to; she was one of the most empathetic people he knew. He took the picture, holding it with both hands in front of him; a sense of longing arose in him. He wondered how she was doing, what she doing. He remembered what they had; remembering the feelings he had for her, and what she felt for him. He wondered if she still felt the same as he did, he quickly caressed the picture before putting it back in its place, before continuing working again.

Clicking on the new dossiers he had been given, he opened the first file, revealing an older asari, Samara was her name. Before he could continue reading her file, a message popped up on his computer. He clicked it.

_Charlie. I have something important I wish to discuss with you, would you mind coming down to my office later?_

_- Miranda Lawson._

Quickly replying with a simple "Yes", he rubbed his chin slightly wondering what was so important that Miranda had to tell it to him in person. That said, he quickly turned back to the dossiers he had to study, but not before taking a last look at the picture.

Would Liara understand?

Yes she would, Liara would care. She would not hate or reject his return. Once again a small smile appeared on his face, even though Illium was two days travel away, he had finally for the first time since he woke up something to look forward to.


	2. Chapter 2

_Liara's office, Nos Astra, Illium._

_Following up on Saturday's tragedy, where the colony of Horizon was attacked. While information was scarce at the time, rumors have finally surfaced suggesting that the Collectors, a small seclusive alien species, were behind the raid that abducted 300.000 colonists. Several people claimed to have seen Commander Shepard, the supposed dead spectre being on the colony during the attack. Fighting and repelling the alien force trying to abduct the colony with the assistance of an unknown human woman and a male turian. We have asked both the Systems Alliance and Citadel Council for comments, but so far only the Council has responded. Citing that quote "We deny the claims of the spectres involvement on Horizon, there have been no reasons to use such measures yet in what is simply, a human matter." Unquote. We will follow up on this as more information is received._

_In other news today, can we expect eezo prices to ri _— Liara turned off the small television in her office, letting out a small sigh. She had been following the news rather intensely as of late, mostly because of the increased abduction of colonist. Despite what the Council and Alliance claimed she had known that there was more to it than simple slavers. She had suspicions that it was the Collectors, given that some of her contacts knew they had started to grow an interest for humans after Sovereign's defeat. A fact that bothered her, the idea of the Collectors being mere puppets of the Reapers was frightening to say the least. But Liara would be dishonest to herself if the abductions were the only reason she paid more attention than usual to what was going on, why she spent more resources than necessary on something that was not related to her mission to find the Shadow Broker.

It was because of Charlie.

She could still hardly believe that he had returned, but should she not of all people expect his return the most? No, what should she have expected? Lawson had told her that Charlie's body was in poor condition, that the project might not even succeed. The words had devastated her. First she had sacrificed Feron for a corpse, when she did not even know of the Lazarus project. Her quest to seek closure had resulted in the loss of even more life. When she had returned, Miranda had confronted her with a proposal. Give Cerberus the body and Charlie would be given a second chance. She accepted the offer; despite all what she told herself, she had done it out of her own desire to see Charlie live again, not because it was what was best for him. So when she heard of the body's bad condition her heart sank. If Charlie did come back, would he even be the same man she loved? Or just a Cerberus puppet, a mere shell of what he used to be. The fears of what extreme measures Cerberus might have done to bring Charlie back plagued her. It had weighted on her for two years, she had hoped to escape these feelings, but now. With Charlie alive again, they had come back to haunt her in full force. She had seen the security recordings of Omega's slums, how Charlie had cleared street after street on his way to his objective, how he had with cold efficiency and precision killed all the blue suns and Vorcha that opposed him. No one spared, no one wounded, just casualties. She had seen the scars her lover's face now bore, the faint red glow his eyes gave. An eerie similarity to the Illusive Man, or Saren…

No. She could not think like this. She could not afford any of it. She had to distance herself from it, less she wished to be hurt. Forcing her mind to return to the task at hand, her fingers glided to the holographic keyboard, puzzled for a mere moment on what to do. She had been tracking two specific individuals on Illium. A justicar and an assassin, while tracking and finding out where they are, or those that know, is an easy task for an information broker as herself. The locations of such unique individuals were always worth something to someone and Liara would want to make sure she could provide the information as soon as it was desired. It was something she prided herself for, that and being one of the most knowledgeable. Her fingers had already opened several reports, bits of data and leaked transmissions, all there to help point her towards where these two individuals could be found. It did not take long for her to find what she needed, what was necessary to locate the justicar and assassin. Having what she wanted, she shut down all the files, leaving a clean screen on her computer.

Once again her hands were puzzled and just as before it only took her a spilt-second before she continued. She had returned to her search, her only true goal, as it has been for two years now. Her vengeance against the Shadow Broker, it was what had been keeping her going for all this time. Giving her strength to fight on, it had nourished her, more than what food, water or sleep could. Making her stay awake in her office, constantly working, constantly searching, making her stay until she could no longer ignore the screams of her body's demands. Such has she been going for two years, neglecting herself in favor of finding the Shadow Broker. Rarely would she give herself the luxury of something else, sometimes she would visit the local bar, order a few drinks and relax to the best of her ability. She would often sit there, at a table alone, watching people as they come and go, happy and cheerful. She would observe them; reflect over their lives and her own. She would wonder why she chose to come back here. Was her reason nothing more than a vain attempt to resurface some part of herself that have been drowned in the bitterness of grief?

Maybe that was true. But she had also found someone here in this bar.

It was the bartender, an old Asari matriarch, Aethyta to be precise. She had already always been kind to her every time she visited the place, always asking her on how she was doing. At first she only gave vague answers, not wishing to pour her heart out to a stranger. But as she returned to the bar, she began to feel that there were some sincerity in the bartender's care of her wellbeing. Aethyta always displayed a desire to talk to her when she visited the bar, doing her best to cheer her up or comfort her when her mood seemed down. It was something she appreciated, having a soul out there that listened to her. Aethyta had been the only one who she had truly talked with, the closest thing she had to a friend now.

But was the bartender really all that she seemed? The matriarch seemed talkative enough when Liara observed her with others, but when it was between them, Aethyta seemed almost elusive about herself, always pushing the subject away. The only thing she slipped was her preference to serve drinks over doing politics. Although the thought of her working for the Shadow Broker had crossed her mind more than once, she still trusted this stranger, despite what must be better judgment.

She had already subconsciously taken out several of today's reports from Nyxeris. Several nodes were being used by the Shadow Broker as databases, but they were secured, unable to be accessed. It was important information, but there was also something else on her screen that now caught her attention, a message from one of her agents at Nos Astra's office overseeing the planet's multiple spaceports.

"What is it, Elira?" Liara asked in a tone that rang with slight impatience, continuing working on the computer as she talked.

"Just an update as usual, ma'am, a ship has just requested to dock. The Normandy SR-2 to be speci—" The Asari was interrupted before she could finish.

"The Normandy?" Liara said in a voice with disbelief. She had stopped typing on her computer, her head turned away from the screen, as if she did not wish to hear what was just said, as if she did not want it to happen.

"Yes, the Normandy SR-2. Supposedly just a civilian ship, but words get thrown around that it is part of some special group or something. It's got most of the higher-ups all worked up. Apparently the information of the ship docking here had to be sent back to the Citadel as soon as possible. Thought you might want to know." Elira had continued talking. Liara however had gone completely silent, her mind racing, her heart pounding. Webbed in her own thoughts so much she forgot the conversation at hand.

"Ma'am?" Elira asked, provoked by the prolonged silence between them. Liara had turned her sight back to her computer again.

"Thank you, Elira. That will be all for now." She had answered Elira, her voice being completely uninterested in the conversation itself. Something else was now occupying her mind. She closed off the connection to Elira and opened a new one to Nyxeris.

"Nyxeris. See to it that the docking fee for the Normandy is paid in advance." She ordered, trying to hide her state of mind with a voice of authority and control.

"Understood, ma'am, I should also inform you that Mr. Sørensen is demanding to speak with you again as soon as possible, he is rather insisting about it. Apparently he was not satisfied with the deal you two made; he claims the information was outdated." Nyxeris had said in a dull, almost bored voice.

"Not my problem that he decides to use what he was given too late. Can you keep him waiting?" Liara replied. Struggling with keeping her reserved voice intact, she had a lot on her mind right now. The last thing she needed right now was that idiotic Human harassing her.

"I can tell him to call in half an hour." Nyxeris replied back.

"Yes, half an hour sounds good. Please do so" Liara said, letting a surge of relief run through her voice in the process. She ended the conversation, desperately seeking a moment of solitude, a moment of reflection. It was hard for her to accept that Shepard was alive, but even harder to accept that he would be here. It was strange; two years ago her greatest desire was to see him return, to see him walk into her room again with his usual smile. An assurance that even after everything that had happened, they could still be together. She had long since abandoned such dreams, but perhaps…

She opened one of the drawers her table had. It was filled with papers and other junk she would not need, all of it useless and unimportant for her, except for one item. It had been there for some time now. She reached down for it, her hand delicately wrapping around the item, a frame which held two objects. She took it up, her eyes observing the objects, observing what remained of the writing on their scorched metal surface.

_Shepard, Charlie B._

_Systems Alliance military._

It was his dog-tags; she had taken them and the rest of Charlie's armor with her before giving the commander's remains to Cerberus. When she first came to Illium to begin her hunt for the shadow broker, she had placed the dog-tags right beside her in this office, while the armor would be in her apartment. She had placed them to serve as mementos, as a source of happiness and a source of strength. But as time went on, she had begun to ignore them, doing her best to avoid them. Every time her eyes laid sight upon them she were confronted with what she had done, what she had lost. She had not found what she sought when she looked at them. Instead she had found grief, anger and guilt. In the end she removed the mementoes, hiding the dog-tags beneath unimportant papers, while stowing the last armor piece away in the back of her apartment. She had chosen to bury him, to distance herself from all the memories she had of him. Choosing to let vengeance be all she knew or cared for. It had been so much easier for her to try to forget, than to keep remembering.

Her eyes were still resting on the writing, her mind filled with conflict. She slowly rose from her chair, dog-tags in hand, turning around to look out the window overseeing the trading floor. She were watching the people down below, observing them. Seeing many of them with friends, family or loved ones gave her mind pause. She looked down at the dog-tags again, as a truth long suppressed started to resurface in her. She knew that despite all the attempts to distance herself, despite all she had told herself. She would never be able to kill that part that still loved him, that part that longed to see him again. Charlie was alive now so perhaps they could finally pick up where they left off? Perhaps they could finally be together again? She shifted her focus from the dog-tags to the distant horizon, her eyes giving an empty look as they watched over the seemingly endless city, as if the answer she sought could be found there. Eventually she turned away from the window, returning to her desk, head hanging down.

Could they still be together?

No, she thought to herself as she placed the dog-tags back into their place, quickly shutting the drawer afterwards.

It was impossible, nothing more than a far-fetched dream. How could they continue, even if it was the real Charlie that would be in front of her? If he knew what she had done, he would despise her. And if he did not know, how could she look him into the eyes knowing she was the one who forcible dragged him back into life and into the service of Cerberus? Even if those things did not matter, how could they just start over again like that? She had spent two years mourning him, and while some part of her still loved him, she knew she could not simply have those two years of pain disappear. She had been hurt already; she could not let it happen once more. And how would Charlie act? Would he care to understand? Or would he just demand that they continue again, ignorant of what she had been through. A flash of white-hot anger ran through her as she thought of the last possibility.

In the end, she knew she had to put it all behind her. It was for the better.

The Asari was sitting in her chair again, arms resting on the table. She looked at the time and let out a small sigh, knowing that she had to prepare for the meeting.

* * *

_Trading floor, Nos Astra, Illium, 47 minutes later._

Garrus and Miranda were barely keeping up with Charlie, who was marching through the streets with purpose, but even he had to eventually slow down to see the marvel that was Illium. He leaned over one of the many railings that existed on Nos Astra, enjoying the splendid view the city provided.

"Quite a view, isn't it?" Miranda spoke out, amazement and respect could be heard in her voice. She like Shepard, had leaned over to see what views Illium provided, viewing the skycars in the horizon, their lights glittering in the distance like precious gems.

"Yeah, quite the change from Omega." Garrus replied, having catched up to the two humans. He like them enjoyed the vista, but he had however turned around for a moment, only to have his eyes instead follow a female turian who walked amongst the crowd, he turned his head back again once she had gone out of sight, continuing. "A shame the only difference between Omega and this place is that you have to fill out the paperwork before committing a crime." Garrus said, being seemingly quite aware of the darker underside of Illium.

"Still, quite a marvelous place, and I imagine you have to do well to make a name for yourself here." Charlie said, stepping in the conversation, he had thought of Liara while saying this, his heart aching a little due to his anticipation to meet her again.

"I'm sure Liara had no trouble becoming successful here." Garrus replied, knowing who Charlie was thinking about, it was all too obvious. Miranda however, seemed to become a little more quiet.

"No doubt about that. Come on, let's get going!" Charlie said with clear enthusiasm, he quickly marched onwards toward Liara's office, with the other two quickly following suit.

After going through the crowded streets for a few minutes, they finally arrived at Liara's office. Given her status as one of Illium's best information broker's, the building in which her office was located seemed rather humble in size compared to what one might expect. All three of them stood outside the entrance, looking at it.

"I'll leave you two alone for now." Garrus said, looking at Charlie who looked back in response.

"Not coming up to say hello?" Charlie asked.

"Sure, but later, for now I'll leave you two alone. Besides, if I go with you now, you'll never get a chance to talk to her." Garrus answered, the last part said in a jokingly manner. Charlie simply shook his head in response. Garrus looked around "In the meantime, I will find a place to sit down and relax." he had continued, having spotted a nearby café that served both dextros and aminos.

"I think I will just follow Garrus, I am sure you wish to spend some time with her alone. That said; please remember that we have business here, Shepard." Miranda said as soon as Garrus stopped, Charlie simply nodded at both of them in acknowledgement. The group split up and Charlie went into the building alone.

The door into the complex opened up, a small sign mentioning Liara's name pointed up towards a set of stairs. He went up there, being greeted by an asari who he assumed to be Liara's assistant.

"Hello, Commander Shepard, Liara will be pleased to see you." The assistant said, politely bowing her head as he approached her.

"Pleased to meet you, you must be Liara's assistance, and you are?" Charlie asked curiously, looking at the purple-hued asari.

"My name is Nyxeris." The asari answered, giving out a small chuckle for forgetting to present herself, Shepard simply gave a smile in response, not bothered in the slightest.

"So, from the looks of it, it seems like Liara has done quite well." Charlie said, looking around the room.

"Yes, although she could gather even more power and wealth if she was not so focused on her personal goals, but I believe she should be the one to tell you that, not me." Nyxeris replied. Charlie had to raise an eyebrow at what she said. Like the Illusive Man, Miranda had warned him that Liara was different now, and while he did not believe either her or the llusive Man, hearing these words made him stop if only for a fraction. What was Liara exactly doing? He knew that Illium had a dark side to it, and to reach the top, one might have to do dubious things, especially in a career as an information broker.

But Liara would never do that. He told himself, however his thoughts were interrupted by Nyxeris who continued "You can go in now, Liara is ready to see you." nodding in the direction of the door. Charlie walked towards it, whatever negative thoughts he had were erased and replaced with the cheerful prospect of meeting her again.

The door opened up, and for better or for worse, he found out the truth sooner than expected.


	3. Chapter 3

Charlie had stepped into the office, only to be greeted by something he did not expect. A balding man could be seen projected as a hologram to the left of Liara's table, the asari herself was standing in front of him.

"Miss T'Soni, this is outrageous! You can't seriously ask me to pay you fully." The bald man stuttered, everything from his voice to his body language showed him being wrecked with fear, whatever words that had been exchanged between them, it was clear he was intimidated by Liara. Charlie however, had gone to a complete halt at these words, watching with mouth open as the conversation played out.

"I am not asking you, Mr. Sørensen, you have one week to pay me. Otherwise…-" Liara coldly stated, an uncomfortable chill ran through Charlie's body as he heard this, the manner in which she spoke, the voice in which she spoke reminded him of someone, but he couldn't say who. Before Liara could finish however, she was interrupted.

"You think you can just bully me into submission like this?" The man said, having mustered what little courage he had in order to stop the woman mid-sentence. Liara had simply looked at him, temporarily showing mild amusement at the man's oh-so valiant defiance.

"And you think yourself man enough to oppose me?" Liara replied, mockery and contempt of this seemingly worm of a being she talked to was the only thing one could find in her voice, she continued "Tell me, have you ever faced an asari commando unit before? Few humans have." Liara asked. Charlie froze at these words; this was Benezia who spoke, not her. The man had winced, removing any illusions of bravado that he might have had before mere seconds before.

"You have one week to repay your debt, fail to do that and expect a short visit from my people." Liara said in a harsh tone, ending the conversation with this final statement. The hologram flickered for a moment and disappeared afterwards. Charlie still stood completely still, unsure on how to react given what he just saw.

"Charlie! Nyxeris, hold my calls." Liara exclaimed, finally realizing his presence. She turned around, walking over to meet him. Charlie had once again gotten a smile on his face; he had brushed aside what he just saw; knowing that whatever happened must have had a good explanation behind it. Seeing her in person made his heart jump; she looked almost as he remembered her, she wore a simple green and white dress, and even though it was rather modest compared to what most other asari wore on Illium, it complimented her, especially at the back.

They were close now, their lips now met, and emotions began to stir in both of them. It was good, after all the shit he had to endure so far, it was good to be in her embrace again.

But then it all ended abruptly.

She had ended the kiss, pulling her head away. She raised her hand, her fingers touching his cheek, examining his scars, staring deeply into his eyes with her own. In the end, she pushed herself away, shaking her head. Charlie's heart sank, unsure of what happened, of what she felt. Was it disgust? Shame? A pang of guilt?

She had now completely left his embrace, moving away to the window, staring out of it. When she turned around to talk to him, and he looked at her again, he finally noticed how similar she was, and yet how different she had become. Her eyes, once radiating with life and a sense of hope, now spoke of untold hardships. Her skin, once a rich blue, had now become a strained pale, showing her exhaustion. It was clear she had overworked, the lack of sleep being an obvious sign under her eyes.

"My sources said you were alive, but I never believed… It's very good to see you." Liara said in a flat tone with little emotion behind her words, she had given him half a smile that did not seem completely sincere.

"It's… It's good to see you too, Liara." Charlie replied, returning with his own smile, one that quickly disappeared again. Right now, he was rather unsure on how to act. There was a moment of silence between them, he continued, trying to make conversation.

"So, it's been a long time huh?" Charlie said. Liara however, simply gestured him to take a seat at the table, before sitting down herself.

"I guess it has." Liara plainly answered, both having finally sat down, her lack of interest in saying anything took Charlie back. Once again there was a pause between them.

"I came here for information to help me on my mission. A justicar named Samara and Thane, a drell assassin. I was told you could help me." Charlie started again, breaking the silence.

"Yes, I have already tracked these two individuals and I will provide you with all the information I have." Liara quickly turned her head down afterwards, rapidly tapping different buttons on the holographic keyboard in order to send the information. Having executed the order, she leaned back in her chair, starring at the man in front of her, raising an eyebrow.

Once more silence built between them.

"Anything else?" She asked, her tone carrying mild annoyance. Charlie was floored; did she not have any desire to talk at all?

"Thanks for the information, but, Liara… I did not come here solely for business. I came here for you; I wanted to see how you were doi-."Charlie said, trying to get into contact with the asari. Liara however stopped him before he could finish.

"I am doing quite fine, Charlie." Liara said, showing obvious irritation at him, she leaned forward again, continuing "As you can see I have managed to build a network for myself."

"So I've heard, although when I came back I halfway expected to find you on a dig site on Ilos, did you stop being an archeologist?" Charlie asked, trying to keep the conversation going, but his heart had sunk even further.

"Yes. After you were gone I turned my attention to other issues, besides, being an information broker is not as different as being an archeologist. The only difference is that the dead bodies still smell here." Liara answered. Charlie grimaced slightly at her last words.

"So I guess those were not simply empty threats you were making?" Charlie asked disapprovingly.

"No, they were not; one does not get very far here without being able to back such claims." Liara replied, obviously not bothered by Charlie's disapproval. The woman turned her head down and started typing on the computer, continuing her work. There was a few seconds of pause before she continued. "But don't worry, Charlie, I rarely have to follow up on them." The asari casually stated as her hands gracefully glided across the keyboard, a sense of pride could be felt behind Liara's words as her lips curved into a smile. The human however, simply shook his head subtlety at her in response. Eventually the woman stopped her work, turning her gaze back to him.

"I want to talk to you, Liara, but I am getting the feeling that you don't want to talk to me." Charlie opened up before silence returned between them. His blunt reply had taken Liara back. He had wanted to comment on her previous statement, but right now he felt that staying his tongue regarding the subject was better.

"I can't, Shepard, I'm sorry, I have things to take care of right now." The asari answered, leaning slightly back in her chair.

"What kind of things do you have to care of, are you in trouble?" Charlie asked. Concern started to grow in him, wondering what was going on. Liara rose from the table now, turning around with head slightly bowed.

"No, no trouble. But it's been a long two years, I had things to do while you were gone, I have debts to repay." She quietly said, slowly rising up, starring out to the seemingly never ending city. She had paused, as if weighting on what to say before continuing, she turned around. "Listen, if you want to help, I need someone with hacking expertise, someone I can trust."

"Sure, what do you need, Liara?" Charlie answered, leaning slightly forward now, having taken even further interest in what she said now.

"I need you to disable security at key points around Illium, you could get me information I need. That would help me a great deal." Liara explained, turning around again so she could sit down. While talking she had activated her omni-tool to transfer the data to Charlie. The human's own interface glowed up in response, signifying the data transfer.

"Hacking a terminal sounds rather easy. Why do you need me?" Charlie inquired, all this secrecy, all this evasive behavior, and for what? Because she needed a few terminals hacked? No, there was more to it than that.

"I do not know anyone else I can trust. Hacking the data nodes won't get you the data. It just creates a minor glitch in the system You'll have a short time to find a local server left vulnerable by that glitch and upload the data to my system." Liara answered, she had leaned slightly back before continuing "I'm leaving my own system vulnerable so that the data can be imported during that short time." Having finished her explanation, she forward again into a normal position.

"If it will help you, I'll take care of it." Charlie said, he gave a small smile, he hoped doing this small favor would help remove whatever there was barrier between him and Liara.

"Thank you, Charlie. This may help me pay a great debt." Liara said, with words just as flat and insincere as when they met. Charlie rose up from the chair, beginning his exit from the room. Her eyes followed him, observing him until he was no longer present, before turning down to the screen again.

* * *

The usual noise and activity of the crowd greeted Charlie as he left the building, the whole ordeal had been confusing to say the least, and the Liara he had seen had run contrary to all his expectations. Her lack of desire to talk to him had put a dampener on his joy to be here. Standing still for a moment, he looked down the street and saw Garrus and Miranda sitting down at the nearby café. He began walking towards them as the turian waved his hand, signifying his location.

"So how did your chat go with T'Soni?" Garrus inquired playfully, the turian took another sip from the Turian alcoholic beverage he had ordered. Miranda meanwhile, was enjoying a more expensive Italian coffee while reading a scientific article, having only given Charlie a quick look before continuing reading.

"Rather… confusing to say the least." Charlie replied back, scratching his head as he tried to replay the conversation in his head. Wondering what was going on.

"Oh come on, Charlie, I know it's been two years but don't tell me you forgot to use it. Or did Cerberus forget to reattach it again?" Garrus joked, carrying the Turian equivalent of a large grin on him. Miranda meanwhile sent the vigilant an unimpressed look, shaking her head.

"Very funny, Garrus." Charlie responded, not being in the mood to respond with a humorous quip, still occupied by his own thoughts.

"Don't tell me it went that badly, Charlie." Garrus asked, still keeping the joking façade, but even then the concern was able to be felt in his voice.

"I don't know, Garrus, like I said. It was rather confusing." Charlie responded, maintaining his puzzled tone.

"okay… So what did happen?" The Turian responded, having now dropped the humor completely. He raised his bottle so he could finally empty it for what little remained in it.

"She asked me to hack terminals for her." The commander answered, shaking his head as the words left his mouth. Garrus, was still drinking from the bottle, savoring every last drop he could.

"You're kidding." Garrus exclaimed, obviously surprised by his answer. Miranda seemed to take more notice of the conversation, dropping the data pad.

"I apologize for interrupting, commander, but any chance you got the information we needed?" Miranda asked.

"Liara provided me with all the information necessary, I guess we should go through it and plan our course of action for when we are here." Charlie responded, taking a chair from a vacant table to sit down on. He quickly activated his omni-tool and sent the data given by Liara to his two crewmembers. And with that, they began planning their next move.

* * *

Several hours later Shepard was back at the entrance to Liara's office. He had already discussed and planned out their objectives and time schedule here on Illium. Their activities here would demand them to stay on the planet for at least 3 days. Thane, the assassin they were looking for, would not strike until tomorrow at the Dantius tower. Samara, having only just arrived at Illium recently, and was expected to be here for the longest time. And in the worst case, she would be the easiest to track down again if something unexpected happened. As for Miranda, her sister was to be escorted off the planet, preferably as fast as possible. So it was to be carried out today.

But that was of no concern just right now; he still had a few hours to spare before duty called. Having done the favor that she asked, he was ready to meet her again. And hopefully things would go more smoothly than before. He walked up the stairs; Nyxeris greeted him, giving him a polite nod as a greeting before he went inside.

Liara was sitting at the table, casually glancing over a datapad. Seeing him entering, she quickly placed it beside her computer.

"Charlie, it's good to see you again." She welcomed him, gesturing him to sit down. She waited for him to sit down before continuing. "Thank you for getting me that data. Here. It's not much, but hopefully it will help yo—" she said, her hand moving across the table holding a credit-chit. Charlie had gently stopped her, intercepting her hand with his own. An act that seemingly shocked her, she had frozen for a moment, being at a complete loss on how to respond.

"There is no need to pay me, Liara. I'm just glad I could help." He said. His smile returned as their hands were now interlocked, his eyes glanced down as if they needed to confirm this contact between them and as quickly they moved up again to lock with hers. The asari responded in kind, for a moment it seemed as if her old self was coming forth. Her eyes seemed less burdened and a warm smile crept forward as their hands were locked together. He felt his heart slowly taking on a more brisk pace as he felt her squeeze more tightly, not wanting to let go.

But just as it seemed that a bridge had been built between them, she withdrew. Hands hiding under table, and head turned away in shame.

"Sorry, Charlie, we…. I can't do this, I–" The asari stammered, trying to find words. Her eyes struggled to main contact with his, as if looking at him caused her discomfort.

"Liara, what's wrong? Tell me." Charlie asked with concern, his facial tone showing worry. And for a moment he felt as if everything stood still, as he waited for her to say something. In the end he felt the wait became unbearable. "Just tell me, Liara. Please!" He pleaded now, his hand reached out for hers, only to be taken back as she did not answer in kind. A quick flash of frustration coursed through him, he wanted to help, to understand, but she was not making it easy for him.

"Charlie, I can't. I need some time, please." Liara whispered in a hushed voice, looking down at her hands which were now resting at the edge of the table.

"Sure, I can come back tomorrow if that is what you need." Charlie asked, having calmed down again. Hearing her hushed tone had made him feel guilty for getting frustrated at her.

"Yes, I would appreciate that, Charlie." Liara answered, she gave a small nod to him as he began rising from his chair. He began to exit the room, only stopping to turn around before activating the door.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Liara." He said, giving one last smile to her. Standing still for a second before leaving, she had not bothered to say farewell.


	4. Chapter 4

_Liara's apartment, Nos Astra, Illium._

The sound of wine emptied from the dark bottle and refilling the glass was the only noise in the apartment; Liara had already gone through one glass and felt like she needed more. Their reunion had been more than what she could bear; meeting him face to face was so much more difficult. Seeing him just reminded her of all the grief she suffered, the loss she had to endure. And yet, even with what she told herself, what she acknowledged as being necessary, she still hesitated, still doubted. Twice she had let old memories and feelings get in the way of what was. Twice she had embraced him only to realize what she was doing, forcing herself to stop.

She looked at the bottle, examining it, one of two bottles of 2121 Château Cheval Blanc, a modest gift given to her by one of her clients. The client in question was a human male, self-serving and with an overblown ego, the worst of what the Illium high-class could produce. She had despised dining in his penthouse, only doing so as to continue and nurture their business relationship. Forced to watch as he treated those around him with disregard, even his own wife seemed to be nothing more than a trophy to him.

The glass was now full again, and soon she welcomed the fine tasting red wine once more. Finally lowering her glass when she had taken what felt like a sufficiently large enough amount. She stared at the wine glass placed on the table, her thoughts continuing of the givers of this gift. She had visited the penthouse multiple times, and with each of them her hatred for this man grew. She had only survived these ordeals by finding what must have been the only decent person there for company, his wife. She remembered how both of them had caught each other's attention, both of them being strangers in this flock. Each time they talked and each time they came on closer terms, she wondered why this woman was still in what must have been a loveless relationship, pressured by family perhaps? She remembered how the woman appreciated her presence just as she appreciated hers, she felt glad in a way, finally having someone beyond a bartender to talk to. Though just as she felt comfortable with her, she realized that the woman wanted more than what they had. And with that she withdrew, declining the invitation which the woman offered, much to her disappointment. She had fled, as old feelings resurfaced to haunt her, to scream bloody betrayal.

Her thoughts turned to the present, her eyes towards the window, towards the foreboding clouds. The brooding weather seemed like an apt reflection of her feelings. Despite her inebriation, her hands somehow forced themselves to her laptop's keyboard. Though given her current state of mind, she doubted she would get anything done beyond what she already had. The screen activated as the computer returned from standby, showcasing everything from personal information, monetary transactions or recorded conversations. All part of what she had gathered of information today, all there to help her in her quest for revenge against the Shadow Broker. She glanced over it, giving a tired sigh. She turned off her computer before reaching out for the bottle of wine. It was hopeless to continue working today, and her mind reassured her that there would always be a tomorrow. With this assurance in mind, she reached out for the glass, feeling the need to empty it. She raised the glass to her lips, once again letting the taste of the rich and rounded wine fill her mouth. She looked at the flask, surprised at the realization that she had already emptied it.

The conversation between her and Charlie was already replaying in her head again, and her guilt grew stronger. Turning him down each time he tried to approach her had created a sense of self-loathing, but she knew she had to endure it. She knew things could only be worse if she let him closer, if she let down the walls she had created.

She had grabbed the next bottle of wine alongside the glass; her body had already by itself started to move upstairs to the bed. She just wanted to get away from all of it, perhaps if she slept; she would wake up and find herself in another time and place. The bed was so close now, promising tranquility and rest. She placed her glass, allowing both her hands to focus on the task of opening the next bottle. Despite fumbling about, her hands opened it quickly and with determination.

She was lying on her bed, progressing through yet another glass. Her eyes gazed emptily up, her mind wandered about. She wondered if after all that had happened, she could still go back. Be the woman she was before, but was that woman even here anymore? She had been gone for such a long time now, no one had seen her. Not because she had passed on or moved somewhere else far away from everyone. No, she had hid under another persona, a tactic needed to survive in the different galaxy she now found herself in. She had to be something she was not, do things she did not wish to. The woman had disappeared and no one had bothered to look for her, tried to search after her. The woman had just gone into hiding, and one day she simply ceased to exist.

No, she couldn't go back.

A single tear felt rolling down her cheek; she wiped it away, not wanting to show any weakness for anyone. She raised the glass to her mouth, hoping the wine would bring some comfort.

* * *

The warm sensation of sunlight across her face was the first thing she felt, her eyes struggled to remain open, only succeeding after several seconds. The asari let out a small groan, still groggy from last night. She gave a quick glance around her environment, first at the two empty wine bottles on floor, then the glass at the night table and finally at the clock…

Goddess, she had overslept! The memory of turning off the alarm suddenly returned to her. She quickly rose from the bed; she needed to be back at the office. Getting back on her feet she realized how much of a mess she felt like. She suffered a minor headache that must have been the hangover from the wine; her stomach was ravenous with hunger as she had not bothered to eat anything beyond a few snacks yesterday. Carefully getting down the stairs, her mind instinctively went towards the coffee machine in the kitchen. Next to a hot shower, a cup of coffee was what she needed the most right now. Her hands reached out by themselves, quickly preparing the machine to create the hot drink. With that task done, she ran out to the bathroom, stripping herself of her clothes and entered the shower.

Several minutes later she left the bathroom. The hot water having worked like a divine gift, washing away whatever ills she woke up with. She quickly got upstairs, grabbing some casual clothes she could run around in. With all this done, she turned to the kitchen, needing to attend another need.

The strong, aromatic taste of the freshly brewed coffee, a glass of juice pressed from Thessia's sweetest fruit alongside creamy yoghurt sated both her hunger and thirst. Having now recovered from last night, she felt like slowing down for a moment despite her obvious need to be at the office right now. She gave a glance out the window, observing the ever busy traffic of Nos Astra. Watching all those people racing off to wherever they went, made her thoughts turn towards the present and her own situation. She would lie if she said she did not have a sense of dread. She feared how far things could escalate between them. Would Charlie push and insist even as she said no? The feeling of anxiety gripped her, as if it was an invisible force squeezing the air out of her. Despite her wish not to see conflict between them, a part of her could not deny the anger she would feel in such a situation. She had respected his memory when he was gone, the least he could do was to respect her feelings when they met.

She stared down into her now empty coffee cup. She only had to dress up now, and then it was off to the office. She wished she could avoid all of this, avoid having to face him again. But knew she had to.

* * *

The dark green car gracefully glided into place, Liara turned off the engine, having now reached her destination. She quickly checked if she had everything with her in the bag she brought. When she was sure, she opened the car door. Stepping outside to the busy street, she quickly turned around to activate the lock. While car theft was not common in this part of town, she could never be too sure, which is why she most likely had also hacked into the security camera over watching her car. Though that was more due to her making sure that her enemies would not try to sabotage or plant a bomb in it in order to assassinate her. The car's lights blinked and it doors lowered, signifying the lock. It would be a shame if she lost the car, not because it was the only one she had, she had 3 in fact, but because it was the one she enjoyed the most. She used her different cars (or perhaps just a taxi) based on the situation and her level of paranoia. One of them was an expensive sports car from a joint Asari/Salarian company, she did not care much for it, mostly due to her never being too excited about fast cars, that and the engine seemed more noisy than usual. She only ever used it when she went to the rich parties, which was her sole reason for buying it in the first place; she felt that it was sometimes necessary to express her wealth and power in every way possible. The other was a dull black car she used when she wished to be discreet, as she rarely used it, it drew less attention. As for the one she just used, she liked it. The engine was quiet and fuel efficient, the seats were comfortable. And if she was going to travel by car, she wanted to travel comfortably. And she preferred the silence as it helped her think.

She was nearing the office now, her parking spot being close to it. She entered the door and climbed the stairs in a brisk pace. Nyxeris greeted her at the top.

"Ma'am, I have received several calls that demand your attention, and I can confirm that Mr. Sørensen paid his debt earlier today." Nyxeris hastily said, knowing that Liara was in a rush. To her surprise, Liara turned around. She had halfway expected her to simply run into the room and give the orders over intercom.

"Thank you, Nyxeris. Could you please cancel all my meetings for today? And tell everyone who wishes to talk to me to wait for tomorrow" Liara asked, sounding exhausted at the mere mention of meetings. If she was going to make any substantial progress today in her hunt, she would have to stay focused on it solely. That and she simply did not feel like talking to her clients today.

"Understood, ma'am." Nyxeris nodded in acknowledgement. She turned down to begin carrying out the asari's orders. Liara turned around again, entering her office.

The room was in the same state as she left it in, a mess. Various datapads were spread across the table; a half empty cardboard coffee cup was standing in the middle of a sea of unorganized papers like a lonely tower. Liara sighed at the sight, she used to keep her office neat and tidy, it helped maintain a sense of control when she had visitors, and leaving it like this just seemed like an admission of weakness. Before she could get anything done she needed to clean this up, and with that she went to work.

Several minutes passed by, but by the end of those a sense of order was reinstated here. The papers were sorted out and organized and the datapads were put back where they belong. She sat at her computer again, activating it for today's work. She knew what she had to do; finishing the analyses of the data Charlie brought her. That was more important than anything else; it would bring her closer to her ultimate goal.

She began typing as soon as everything was prepared, she was already hours late and Feron was depending on her...

* * *

Several hours had passed without her noticing. She had worked nonstop in order to dissect the information, to form a pattern out of this large quantity of data. And only now did she pause, having now fully uncovered what was useful from it. Her eyes narrowed down as they thoroughly read every word, she could afford no misinterpretations or misunderstanding.

She leaned back in the chair, having fulfilled this part of her task, her thoughts now turned towards her next move, her next target. Though before she could continue, she was alerted by Nyxeris over the inter-com.

"Ma'am, Shepard wishes to see you. I told him to wait for tomorrow, but he insist on seeing you now." Nyxeris said in an annoyed tone.

"What?! No! Please let Shepard in, Nyxeris." She quickly said, her mind cursing at itself. In her rush to get back into her office and start working, she had forgotten to make a single exception to the order given to Nyxeris. The door opened up after she finished her response, and Charlie walked in.

"Thanks. I insisted that there had to be a mistake, but she was quite persistent in saying otherwise. Glad I was not just making an ass out of myself." He casually said as he approached the seat he used yesterday, only turning his head around quickly to look at the door as it closed behind him.

"I am sorry, Charlie. I did tell Nyxeris to cancel all meetings, but I forgot to make an exception for you." Liara hastily explained, feeling a small blush of embarrassment at this mistake.

"It's okay, I guess you are busy." Charlie said calmly, hinting that she had no need to apologize. He finally sat down in his chair.

"True, I suppose." Liara said with a small sense of relief in her tone. They stared at each other now.

Just like in their last meeting, the silence built between them, both of them waiting for the other to say something. Liara knew she had to break the ice first.

"Charlie... I am afraid I need your help again. The data you brought me led me to my next targets, it..." She opened up cautiously, unsure on how to proceed near the end. She knew she had to handle this request delicately. Charlie however, grimaced slightly at this request.

"Liara, I was thinking that business could wait for a moment." Charlie said, stopping her before she could continue. Liara simply looked at him without any reaction.

"What do you propose instead?" Liara asked coldly, she hated this wall she created, but knew it was necessary to maintain it.

"That we talk, Liara, about yesterday." Charlie answered, his tone being slightly harsher now in response.

"Charlie, please. We can't, not right now." Liara said in an almost pleading voice. She wished this conflict would end between them.

"Why not?" Charlie asked impatiently, as if this was some sort of hearing or interrogation.

"Because this is Illium, Charlie, everything I say is probably being recorded." Liara responded back, leaning forward over the table, carrying the same aggressiveness as he did. She leaned back again, her expression returning to a more calm and innocent one. "Please, Charlie, I need your help once more." she continued, her lie made her inside flinch, but her outside remained unaffected.

"Fine, I'll help you once more. What's the job?" Charlie said, only grudgingly accepting her offer.

"Nyxeris and I used the data you got me to help locate our next targets, 5 Shadow Broker operatives. I need you to hack into multiple data nodes here on Illium, which should reveal the identity of these 5 people." Liara explained in a matter-of-fact voice.

"What are you planning to do once you find these 5 people? Kill them?" Charlie inquired; Liara easily noticed his distaste and skepticism for what he heard. And rightly so she thought.

"No, I plan to tap into their communications and thereby gain a better insight into their network." Liara answered. She knew it was a lie and she hated that, but she also knew that if she told the truth then he would refuse to help her. It was a necessary evil, and she had grown accustomed to such evils.

"Fine, but why Shadow Broker operatives?" Charlie asked in a puzzled manner, raising an eyebrow at this fact.

"It is... a complicated story, Charlie." Liara said, her eyes turned away from the man for a moment. A sense of heat grew inside her as she felt uncomfortable about the subject.

"Fine, I'll drop it. I should be going now anyway. I'll come back later today." Charlie said with annoyance and frustration behind his words. With that said he rose up and started to leave.

"You should, Charlie." Liara replied, watching him as he left the room. When he was gone she let out a small sigh, she hated how she had deceived him, lied to him to further her own goals. But it was necessary; she had to kill the Shadow Broker.

* * *

The day went on uneventful, aside from the occasional blink from one of her devices signaling the transference of data by Charlie to her, she managed to get through most of it uninterrupted. Her progress had been significant today, coming closer and closer to finding the observer and by extension the Shadow Broker. She had already ruled out the vorcha (obviously) and the salarian as suspects, leaving only the krogan, the batarian and the turian left.

The sun was slowly setting down behind her, it was getting late and the office was about to close. But that did not matter to her; she was going to stay here until late-night like she had done so many times before. Nyxeris had one minute ago noted that she was going home for today, so to Liara's own knowledge she was alone. She wondered if Charlie would not come back anyway, a part of her hoped that would be the case. That he would decide to let go and accept the way things were right now.

What she wished would happen meant little as the familiar noise broke the room's silence, someone wished to enter. She knew who it was and a mixture of dread and foreboding gripped her, she looked at the button that would open the door for what felt like minutes.

She pressed it.

Charlie stepped in; the lack of light at the entrance cloaked his upper body, with only his scars and eye implants radiating a faint red light from the shadow. Her spine shivered at this sight, disturbed by it. The repulsion she felt however was not directed at him, but at herself. The scars which ruined this human's features were her fault.

"Your toy did its job." Charlie opened up, quipping sarcastically. He leaned slightly against one side of the wall, looking at her.

"Charlie, please sit down." Liara said in a serious tone. She had not commented on his words, not wishing to continue discussing this particular subject. Charlie gave a silent sigh before complying. She waited to continue until he was sitting.

"I have received data from all 5 sites. And I have transferred credits to your bank account as payment." Liara said, only looking down shortly at the computer to confirm that the money had made their transaction.

"There is no need for that, Liara." Charlie responded back while trying to sound calm, but Liara could sense that he was starting to get more emotional already.

"I am afraid it is too late to cancel it, Charlie. Besides, the job you did deserves payment." She replied back coldly and continued to work on her computer.

A couple of seconds passed and the air in the room grew with tension.

"Liara, I'm not one of your fucking clients! And neither are you mine. So how about you drop that act and stop keeping me at distance." He snapped at her. The asari simply stopped typing, her head turning away from the screen to look at him.

"Charlie… what do you want me to do? To say?" She asked mournfully, for what options did she have? What could she say? Charlie leaned slightly over towards her.

"You could start by telling me the truth." He said in an angered voice, leaning back afterwards. Liara knew she had to say something now. She rose up from her chair to look out the window. The usual crowd had died out, most stores have closed and people were returning home. She wondered where to start.

"You remembered that the five targets I talked about were Shadow Broker operatives? Well… there is reason why I am targeting his network." She said, still looking out the window. The room had become dead silent.

"And what would that reason be?" The man asked, gone were the anger in his voice, his tone had become serious now.

"We crossed paths not long after you died. Since then, I've been working to take him down." She said. Her thoughts had become distant from him as they turned back to that day. Her anger and rage was boiling up, toning her voice and had her clinch her fist.

"Why? What happened, Liara?" He asked further, other than that he was not making a sound whatsoever.

"I was on a job with a friend. The Shadow Broker's people caught us. My friend did not escape. I do not know if he is dead or being interrogated, but I need to find him. I owe him my life." The asari continued. She had managed to control her anger, but her voice became bitterer with each word spoken. After a small pause she let out another sentence.

"And I need to make the Shadow Broker pay for what he did." And with these words her small story about the Shadow Broker ended. Even now she was still looking out the window, having only turned her head slightly to the side occasionally. Charlie however, only had a sense of disbelief on his face at the end.

"You've spent two years of your life hunting the Shadow Broker? Liara, that's insane!" He bluntly said. It was clear that he saw nothing but madness and insanity in what she was doing.

"You don't know what he did! You couldn't! You were gone!" She snapped at him, turning around nearly instantly and slamming her hands against the table. The anger and rage against the Shadow Broker which she had just concealed sprung up again, but now it was directed against him. She starred down at him, drawing heavy breaths. Charlie however had not even flinched at her outrage, just staring back at her with disbelieving eyes.

"I am sorry, Charlie. I did not mean to…I…" She let out sounding tired and weak; she fell down in her chair looking nearly exhausted. Her anger had washed away when she realized she had snapped at him.

"Liara, you don't need any of this. Forget all of it and come with me!" He pleaded to her one last time. Liara just looked at him, his offer was tempting, but she could not do it.

"No, Charlie, I cannot leave. And please, just go." She simply said, shaking her head at him. The man looked heartbroken for a moment, before putting on a stoic face. He rose up.

"Very well… we'll talk later." Charlie said. Liara however, just looked vacantly at him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note: This is the final chapter. I hope you have enjoyed the story so far and will enjoy the ending as well. I want to give thanks to two members of the BSN. The first is "Ladyvader" who helped test-read during the start of this project, which is the reason it actually managed to get off the ground. My second thanks go to "Cohina" who helped test-read the majority of it and due to his reliable and constructive help and criticism, my story has seen much improvement. Had it not been for his help, my story might have never been finished in the first place.**

**I give my most sincere and deepest thanks to both of these members.**

* * *

_Trading floor, Nos Astra, Illium._

The weather was growing worse over the sky, clouds were gathering above like they have done for the last two days, bringing with them the certain promise of rain. Charlie was walking through the street towards the office. The crowd was smaller than usual, seemed like no one wanted to spend the day in this grey weather that could turn to rain any second. But this was of no concern to him; he never minded walking in the rain (as long as it was not storming). And rain it did, as he soon felt the touch of small raindrops on his skin. Usually he would stop to feel the rain, living on spaceships or stations most of his life; he often took the time to experience the weather when he was on an actual planet. But as he looked up, he saw the large window of Liara's office, radiating light which brightened up the now grey weather like a furnace. He continued, knowing he had more important things to consider right now. So many of his thoughts wandered around his talk with Liara yesterday, the explanation she gave. He was shocked, angered, when he heard how she spent 2 years on getting revenge. Apparently all she had done here had been in then name of some forsaken cause.

He entered the office building and slowly went up the stairs. He was greeted only by an oddly vacant desk, rather strange given that it was not yet weekend. He gave a puzzled look at the empty chair, before going to the door to press the button.

"Hello? Who is there?" Liara's voice greeted through the intercom, having locked the door. Nyxeris' apparent absence must have made her less aware when it came to who was visiting.

"It's me, Liara, open up." Charlie said, waiting for an answer.

"Of course, please give me a moment." The asari said. Charlie nodded slightly at the response. Time passed on and a whole minute went by without the door opening, much to his curiosity as to what could take Liara so long. Eventually it opened up and he could enter her actual office. Liara was sitting at her desk as always, though she seemed even more tired and weary than usual. She quickly caressed her upper left arm with her right hand before continuing typing on the keyboard.

"Hello again, Charlie, what can I help you with? Need an update on the Justicar?" Liara asked politely while looking at the screen.

"Nothing actually, I already know that I just need to talk officer Dara if I need to her current location." Charlie answered using the same tone as she did.

"Then what are you exactly doing here?" Liara said, still retaining her tone, though a sense of hostility could be felt in her. Charlie snorted at her.

"Liara, we both know why." Charlie said, stepping towards her. Liara looked up to him now and they made eye contact, he continued. "I want to talk about yesterday, I want you reconsider what I said." Charlie finished, he had dropped the polite tone now, having turned to a sincere and more serious one. He took the final few steps and was sitting down now.

"Charlie, we both know I can't." Liara said, she too had dropped the professionalism and answered in a voice heavy with sadness.

"Why not?! Look at all this; it's not doing you any good." He nearly yelled out while gesturing the entire room, the concern and care he had before had now morphed into bitter frustration.

"I just cannot abandon my friend like that, Charlie." She responded back; aside from her head the rest of her body seemed almost frozen in place. Charlie shook his head at her.

"Your friend is dead, Liara. Maybe it is time for you to stop chasing shadows and move on." He said. He anticipated that she would not respond well to this blunt statement, but he also knew she needed to hear the truth if she were to return to her senses.

"You cannot say that, Charlie. You do not know if he's dead!" Liara said in a more angered voice, slamming her right palm into the table, her body coming back to life. Charlie however, quickly glanced away, taking a heavy breath. He turned his sight back to her.

"Liara… is this… friend really that important to you?" The words escaped his tongue, words that had been poisoned by feelings he thought he was better than to have, feelings that had secretly gnawed away at him since yesterday.

"That is not what is going on, Charlie." Liara bitterly tried to explain herself; she had quickly leaned forward towards him, her arms were now resting on the table as well. Charlie took his hands and held each of her hands gently.

"Really? You're fine talking about your plans of revenge, but talking about you and I is just too bloody inconvenient. If what I think is not going on, then what is?" He asked while trying to remain calm, a task he found difficult given his emotional state. He quickly noticed how Liara winced as he held her left arm. His eyes turned away from hers and down to it. He looked back up.

"Are you hurt?" He asked concerned. He took his left hand to hold hers.

"Charlie, it is nothing." She explained, clearly uncomfortable at his question. She tried to pull her left arm away, but he tightened his grip around it in response. His left hand pushed the cloth covering her arm away, revealing the skin beneath. Dark purple, almost black bruises covered her pale blue skin alongside several cuts. He ran his left hand across her skin, for a moment he was speechless.

"What have you done?" He whispered. It was a pointless question, as he had already sensed the answer. "Nyxeris. You killed her, didn't you?" He continued, looking back at her. Her eyes seemed filled with the same hatred as he saw before, eyes filled a cold fury. She remained silent.

"Well, you sure as hell didn't hack her omni-tool!" He shouted at her while he loosened his grip on her arm. Whatever good he felt towards her now had disappeared. Changed to perhaps the same anger and contempt she showed him. Liara pulled her arm back and pulled part of her dress back so it covered her arm again.

"The data I asked you to provide was to find out who of those 5 targets was the Shadow Broker's officer. As it happened, I found out Nyxeris was my actual target. So I confronted her." Liara coldly explained, completely unaffected by his outburst.

"So killing her was just an accident?" He asked, almost laughing at the sheer absurdity of his own question.

"Little I do here is of accident, Charlie." She said without remorse or any sign of being troubled by her own words, much to his disgust.

"I can't believe what I am hearing. Liara, do you even know who you sound like? Who you behave like?!" Charlie venomously spat out, anger and heartbreak clouded and filled his thoughts now. Liara's cold façade vanished, changing into something that reflected the same emotions her eyes held.

"How dare you compare me to my mother." She said with gritted teeth. The entire had taken another tone now; the air around them was heavy with tension. The asari looked as if she was almost ready to flare biotics and strike out.

"I do dare, Liara, because maybe it's time for you to look in the mirror. Threats? Manipulations? Lying? Assassinations? Liara, what the hell is wro—" Charlie said, each word filled with more of his contempt of her after the other, but before he could finish. Liara interrupted.

"Wrong?! If anybody is wrong here, it is you!" She snapped, his final word being the last straw. Both of them had with frightening speed risen up from their chair. Both looking at each other with the same despise, whatever love or care they had for each other was seemingly gone now.

"You think you can just force your way back into everyone's lives? Think you can just walk in and demand that I just jump back into your lap and turn into some little happy asari scientist? Well I got something to tell you, Charlie. The galaxy does not work that way, it does not revolve around you and your needs. You've always been selfish." Liara had finished, her words seemed to have silenced the entire room. Both of them just looked at each other now, no words were exchanged for a minute. And Charlie perhaps understood why, perhaps everything that needed to be said had been said now. There were no more games or deceit from her, just brutal honesty. Liara eventually stepped away from the table; she turned around to face out the window, her hands leaning against it.

"Look, Charlie… You do not understand… I didn't mean to… I just cannot continue right now after all this." The asari said, her voice reduced to a sad whisper.

"I think I understand perfectly. I knew I shouldn't have expected anything coming back." Charlie said. He was ready to leave to now. He sure as hell did not need any more of this. He turned around to leave, before he could no longer hide his grief. "Goodbye Liara." He ended the conversation, and with that he stormed out of the room.

* * *

The sound of the door closing was the only thing noise made in the room, outside the heavy rain now hammered against the window relentlessly. Liara still leaned up against the window, her eyes following the human as he rushed back to his ship in a brisk pace. And eventually he was out of sight, he was gone. Just as perhaps how he was gone from her life now. She slowly turned around again so she could sit down.

She crashed down into her chair again, burying herself into her arms. She started to sob, but she did not cry or shed any tears, for those had all been spent already. Her heart was stricken with both sadness and wrath, her thoughts turned to the dog-tags. A part of her wanted to throw them away in rage, to smash them into a thousand pieces. But should she really be angry? Had she not in a way wanted this? Had she not thought that they could not continue?

Yes she had, in a sense; all of this had been of her design, of her desire.

She slowly pushed herself up again, taking a few deep breaths to regain her composure, hands still shaking. Her fury slowly faded, leaving only a strange clarity in its wake. Despite this conflict they had, despite the words chosen to pierce each other with. The same part in her heart that kept hope, that still loved, sensed that he still and always would share such a place in his heart for her. It was this hope, this fool's hope, which persisted. The hope which told her, that once her broken heart had been made whole again and cleansed for its sins, they might continue again.

This hope seemed to be nothing more than embers compared to the crushing darkness that was the rest of her mind, giving only the faintest glow, a light which was perhaps only sustained by impossible dreams. She asked herself the same question as before they met, wondering if the answer could be anything else.

Could they still be together?

Perhaps, but just not right now.


End file.
